Big picture
A very quick format change and one where there is a bit more urgency to get it right before next year’s T20 World Cup. According to the ICC rankings, this series is pitted from second to third, so it has the characteristics of good competition on surfaces that are likely to favor the bat.
Australia were the top-ranked team earlier this year, but lost that tag during the 2-1 series loss in England – last summer they won five of their six matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, reaching a good peak for the Cup. of the World at home that was finally postponed due to the pandemic.
In this series they are already without David Warner and Pat Cummins, while Marnus Stoinis is recovering from a lateral strain, Mitchell Starc missed the last ODI with a sore back and Ashton Agar appeared to suffer a strain on his calf. Mitchell Marsh is also missing from the team that finished the series in England, so there will need to be some new off-roaders in the middle order.
SEE ALSO: Pandya, Jadeja and the rapids give India the first win of the tour (only in the Indian subcontinent)
The Indian players (as are some of the Australians) are exiting the IPL, albeit with a gap of a few weeks, so their T20 games should be in decent order. They could feature a couple of players who were not part of the series one day and there will be eyes on the combination with which they go at the top of the order. Since the first of the test warm-up matches overlaps with the second two matches, it could be that some players are released for that contest.
Forms guide
Australia WLLWL (last five completed matches)
India WT (won Super Over) T (won Super Over) WW
In the spotlight
Glenn maxwell is in a bit of shape. The one-day series brought in 167 runs with a strike rate of 194.18, which followed his successful series in England. Among that was a very tight IPL in which he did not achieve a single six. The interesting part of this series will be how Australia uses it in the batting order given how well it has hit the ball on the one-dayers. There might be a temptation to give it as much time as possible, but it also has the ability to play a role that few others can play in the latest changes. Don’t be surprised to see him bowling in the power game either.
Jasprit bumrah It seemed like he was getting his mojo back on the third ODI after a slow start to the tour. He claimed the decisive wicket when he nailed one to the base of Maxwell’s stumps and, more importantly, was playing with a smile on his face again after letting some frustrations clear up in Sydney. His IPL form was outstanding – 27 wickets with an economy of 6.73 – but it remains to be seen if he plays this entire series before turning to test cricket.
Team news
When Warner was rested for the final T20I against England, Wade took his place so he could be the road again this time, although D’Arcy Short has joined the roster. The absence of Mitchell Marsh and probably Stoinis opens spaces in the middle order. Alex Carey was eliminated for the last game against England, but was able to regain his place. Bowling could be a variety of combinations depending on the status of various reviews.
Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch (captain), 2 Matthew Wade, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Alex Carey (week), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 AJ Tye / Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Who wants one of these new Australian shirts?
They will be wearing this new indigenous kit in the T20I series against India. pic.twitter.com/bNg77oTdL4
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 30, 2020
Does KL Rahul move up the order? All of his IPL careers came from the top of the order and he opened in his latest T20I series. Moving up the order, India will have to decide between playing a Manish Pandey batsman or the all-rounder Washington Sundar. Given Hardik and Jadeja’s hitting form, they might look to an additional bowling option from Sundar, who has had decent IPL form coming into the series. Also, T Natarajan could receive a debut in T20I.
India (probable) 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 T Natarajan, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Plot and conditions
It has the makings of a high score contest. At BBL, Manuka Oval has the highest execution rate (8.56) of any field for having hosted more than one game. It has only hosted one T20I, last year between Australia and Pakistan, when the home team comfortably chased 151.
The forecast is for a good afternoon.
Statistics and trivia
Quotes
“I will be hanging around the T20 group, I will try to raise my hand for the selection. Also in the back of my mind there is a series of tests that is coming, so preparing for that. But you have to prepare for where you are now and those. They are the guys from T20.
All terrain Cameron green, who made his Australian debut during the ODI
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